Flash mob dancers at Howrah bridge to mark its 72nd birthday

Kolkata: Surprising daily commuters, a group of 50 dancers today brought out a flash mob on the iconic Howrah bridge to mark its 72nd birthday.

Wearing the typical Bengali white dhoti, the young group started dancing on the bridge early in the morning against the sound track 'Calcutta Kiss' from Dibakar Banerjee's upcoming Hindi film 'Detective Byomkesh Bakshi'.

Howrah bridge

Carrying posters which read 'Happy Birthday Howrah Bridge', the flash mob cheered for the iconic structure used by more than 1,20,000 vehicles and 500,000 pedestrians to cross the Hooghly river flowing between the twin cities of Howrah and Kolkata.

The flash mob was a promotional activity for the film, which is scheduled to be released on April 3.

Howrah Bridge, a British engineering marvel, was thrown open to commuters on February 3, 1943 but never had a formal inauguration due to security issues during World War II.

"DBB ('Detective Byomkesh Bakshi') is set in the same time zone as the birth of Howrah Bridge and the team was keen to honour the bridge in their way. The bridge is a very important element in the film which was also seen in the poster image," said a statement from the film producers.

Renamed as Rabindra Setu, the 705-metre-long cantilever bridge is among the busiest in the world.